a game of kocokan

a game of kocokan

draws men and demons outside

the temple gate

Wandering around an odalan in Nyuh Kuning, I chance upon a group of men and boys dressed in white and black temple attire playing Kocokan outside the temple gate. Kocokan is a game of chance where players put money on a vinyl mat decorated with six different pictures of gods, demons or animals. This particular version depicts a sea turtle, a rooster, a crayfish, a flying fish, a crab and an eel. The dealer places three large dice marked with the same pictures in a bucket, shakes the bucket and uncovers the dice. The pictures that turn up are winners. I saw this game being played on the beach, but I am surprised to see it at a religious festival. 
          I go looking for Pak Win, an expert on Balinese culture who's always happy to explain customs to me. When I find him, he tells me that the purpose of gambling at an odalan is to draw the attention of demons away from the religious ceremonies going on inside the pura desa. Balinese believe that the world is made up of the eternal opposites, good and evil, which are both part of life. They do not strive to completely eliminate evil but rather to maintain a balance so that evil does not overpower good. The black and white checkered temple decorations and the men's white and black temple dress symbolize this balance of opposites. The "vice" of gambling serves the purpose of distracting evil spirits so that they stay outside the temple. Of course, it also attracts Balinese of all ages, especially young men and boys, who are happy to do their part by entertaining the demons.

balancing gebogan

balancing gebogan

on top of their heads, parading

to the odalan 

The third odalan today is the largest, held at a village pura desa to celebrate the anniversary of the temple. Graceful young women keep filing in, bearing gebogan or banten tegeh, tall offerings. This is not an easy feat, as the offerings are not only tall but heavy, and the women use only one hand to keep the edifice balanced on top of their heads. Ida Ayu directs them where to place the one-meter-high offerings on the central bale, where incense sticks are placed in the gebogan. I am amazed at the amount, size, shape, color and variety of items in the offerings. It's like watching a homecoming parade, each "float" a work of art. Robin tells me that these gebogan can take weeks to make. Each one can cost 500,000 Rp, depending on the ingredients, which much be the finest. 

The tukang banten, usually elderly women belonging to the Brahman caste, collect the ingredients, put them together and ritually purify them. They start with a soft banana trunk placed on a wooden dulang or metal bokor. The ingredients, pinned to the trunk with bamboo skewers, vary widely, but may include fruit such as banana, apple, pear, mandarin or salak, rice crackers, sweet cakes, flowers, grated coconut, roasted peanuts, rice pyramids or cooked chicken. Sampian, plaited coconut leaves, decorate the top. One woman at this odalan has brought a gebogan made of a pile of batik cloth, folded and stacked high. 

A procession of priests dressed in white sangkul putih comes around, carrying sheaves and trays and sprinkling tirtha from narrow glass bottles with tapered metal spouts. To me, these holy water dispensers look like the bottles for oil and vinegar at restaurants back home. The pemangku bless the participants and the gebogan with the tirtha. After the gods have enjoyed the essence of the gebogan, the family will enjoy the offerings at home.

The whole celebration is extremely beautiful and colorful, with everyone dressed in their finest, all the buildings elaborately decorated and piled with mounds of gebogan. The purpose of all this beauty and delicious food is to please the many different gods who have been invited to come from the holy mountain to the temple. Pak Win tells me that the word banten may come from the Sanskrit word bali, which means tribute, obligation or gift. Or it may be derived from enten, which means to wake up or be conscious. An offering is a conscious awareness of the gods. He says offerings also have the purpose of binding communities together. The constant stream of celebrations certainly brings people together to feel the joy of giving gifts to the gods and to enjoy each other's company, surrounded by beauty, music and entertainment.